Senator Bill Doyle (R-Washington) has released results of his Town Meeting Day survey, with voters supporting a cell phone ban while driving, an increase in the minimum wage and labeling GMO foods, while being torn about the legalization of marijuana, wind turbines and the new health care law.
Senator Doyle has been conducting this survey for 44 years. Over 13,000 returns were tabulated from 155 Vermont Cities and Towns. It is an unscientific poll and non-binding, but it has regularly matched hard polling data and often jibed with what ultimately comes out of Montpelier.
Doyle said this is the most response he's ever had to the iconic poll. He said seven or eight of the questions are still in play in the Legislature.
"The cell phone issue is very big right now and I think it's going to pass," Doyle said. He said the opiate problem, legalizing marijuana and the minimum wage are much on the mind of the public and of lawmakers. He also thought the question on affordability was revealing.
"Vermont is losing out on being an affordable place to live," he said, as housing is relatively high and wages are relatively average.
The results, in percentages, follow:
YES NO UNDECIDED
1. Prohibiting drivers from using cell phones 74% 19% 7%
2. Legalization of marijuana 44% 45% 11%
3. Wind turbines on Vermont ridgelines 48% 33% 19%
4. Increasing minimum wage 71% 20% 9%
5. Concern about opiate use 89% 5% 6%
6. Reducing prison population for non-violent offenders 71% 17% 12%
7. GMO: should food products with genetic engineering be labeled 76% 15% 9%
8. Do you believe Vermont is an affordable place to live 26% 60% 14%
9. Is statewide cell service and broadband important to the future
of Vermont's economy 87% 5% 8%
10. Is natural gas an important part of Vermont's economy 55% 21% 24%
11. Should Vermont have a state bank 23% 38% 39%
12. Do you believe Vermont healthcare is moving in the right direction 41% 38% 21%
13. Are education costs unsustainable 69% 18% 13%
14. Does the federal government collect too much information
on the lives of citizens 69% 17% 14%
Senator Doyle releases Vermont Town Meeting survey results
Submitted by tim
on